I got my first bass in 1976, when I was 13 years old. It was one of these:
The Gibson SB 300 and 400 were a pretty short-lived phenomenon. The vast majority of these Kalamazoo-made basses were produced in 1971, with a few more in '72 and '73, but by late '72 they were no longer listed in price lists, in favor of two new bass models, the SB350 and SB450.
They never made it into any American Gibson catalog, although they did appear in this 1971 publicity sheet, also advertising the Gibson SG200 guitar.
The June 1971 price for either SB model was $289.50, compared to $350 for the EB0/EB0L and $410 for the EB3/EB3L.
The nylon saddles were particularly poor-wearing on this multiplex bridge, which is one of the reasons few of these basses still have them fitted.
Despite being SG-shaped, and finished in walnut or cherry, these basses were very different to the EB basses available in 1971. In fact the body shape and colour about the only thing these basses have in common. SB: Alder body, a two-pice maple neck, small angle (7o) headstock angle and single coil pickups EBs: mahogany body, three-piece mahogany neck, 13o headstock angle and humbuckers.
I got mine used from Schmidt Music in Brooklyn Park, MN. I would guess we paid around $200 or so. It had a big buckle rash on the back. Some "friends" of mine destroyed it in a show, Townsend style. It had faulty electronics by then, and all it probably needed was some soldering. I used to have part of the neck and headstock, but I don't know what happened to them.
My next bass was a fireglo Rickenbacker 4001, which looked a lot like my current 4003. My mom made me sell it, because I got caught with weed, and for the next 30 years or so, I did not consider myself a bass player at all. When I did recordings, I either brought in a "real" bass player, or played the bass parts on keyboard.
Then I started playing bass so my ex-wife could be a standalone singer in our band, around 2007(ish) First I played her Washburn P-bass copy, and then I borrowed our guitar player's little brother's Washburn. I don't remember much about that one. My first bass I owned in many years was a fantastic Frankenfender, which I still have and still adore.
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It's an Alder Squier body, and a Maple Fender-authorized neck that someone put a Fender logo on. EMG Select (passive) pickups, Badass II bridge. It plays and feels great, and I've had compliments about the tone.
I also have a Squier Affinity V that I used to use a lot. My main bass these days is the one featured in my avatar: